Knife sharpener



K. K.- LEONG KNIFE SHARPENER Feb. 15, 1949.

Filed Oct. 28, 1946 INVENTOR. [GM E5 L EONG ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 15, .1949

--sTAT-Es PATENT OFFICE I fishers-9o TiKNIFEiSHAK'RENER QlKim'Ke'e' Leong, San'Francisco,"Calif.

, .n pneatioa 'ctobe1i'28, 1946, Serial No. 706,195 "TGITCIaimS; (o1;*s 1' 't214) This invention ::relates :za ri'knifessharpener wherebyknives of varying.- size-.andzshape *mayizbe quicklyssharpened arid-honed.

The ."object .of the v present invention "is generally f to improveand-simplify :the construction H and-operation ofaknife .-sharpeners; to provide a sharpeneraby which tthet-cutting :edge of a knife is: sharpened. byv drawing it..lengthwise between a pair of abrasivestones; to provide a: sharpener which iemploysxabrasive stones in the'form of wheels disposed on acute angles opposed to each other; to provi'de abra'sive wheels which are rotatedby drawing aknifebladebetween them and which move vertically a limited .ldistancemhile being rotated; and further, to provide a sharpener by which-'-blades of -=varying sizeand shape mayinot only be rapldlysharpened, but :also honed.

, The knif sharpener is shown by way'iofcillustratiorr in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig.. 1 is za'i'front view partially-in sectionssaid section being taken on line II of Fig. 2

Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation taken on line II-II of Fig. 1; and

, Fig. 3 is a plan view taken on section line III-III of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings in detail, and especially Fig. 1, A indicates a base member which is provided with a rod 2 and a handle 3 whereby the base is held when sharpening a knife. Formed integral with the rod or pressed on the rod in the form of a sleeve is a sharpening steel or hone 4, and in order that the hone may be slightly rotated from time to time as it wears, the rod and hone are secured to the base by a threaded extension and a nut 5. Also secured to thebase by nuts 6 is a pair of rods or bearing pins 1 and 8 and freely rotatable on the respective pins are sharpening stones in the form of wheels 9 and 10 which are made of a suitable abrasive material. The lower portion of each wheel is composed of a comparatively coarse abrasive 9a and Illa, while the upper portion of each wheel is composed of a finer grain abrasive as indicated at 91) and lb. It will further be noted that each abrasive wheel is provided with a bearing sleeve I 4 to reduce wear on the pins about which they rotate. The coarse and fine grain sections of each wheel are cemented to each other vertical movementof each wheel on its bearing pin. is permitted. r

In actual operation aknife to be sharpened is placed between the abrasive wheelsin the .position indicated by dotted lines at l5 and pushed back and. forth between the wheels a few times, carebeingtakenthatthe edge of the blade tobe sharpenedcontacts both wheels. During .this back and forth movement of the knife blade, both wheels -Will:rotate first in one direction .and then in .the othen'and as they are disposed on-an acutelangle with relation to a vertical plane, andon. angles opposed to each other, one wheel willtraveL-upwardly on its bearing pin while the otherwheelmoves downwardly, but the moment thezknifeis pushed or pulled in the opposite direction ,'the wheel-that moved upwardly will move downwardly, and the other wheel will; move upwardly.

This vertical movement of the wheels with relationto the cutting edge of the knife blade plus; slippage between the'knife blade and the wheels cause-s the abrasive in the wheels to sharpen the; cutting edgeof the knife blade, and when the blade is sharpened to a desired degree, it is finished by pulling it across one side of the hone 4 and the wheel 9 as indicated by the dotted lines l6 and then across the other side of the hone and the wheel ID as indicated by the dotted lines I1. I

When a right handed person; is using the sharpener, the handle 3 is grasped with the left hand and the knife by the right hand. The knife knife edge is first held in a position to engage I or contact the surfaces of the wheels which contain the coarser abrasive, then by gradually moving the blade upwardly as it is being pulled back and forth, the surfaces containing the finer abrasive are engaged to finish the sharpening of the cutting edge before honing the same. By employing this method of sharpening the surfaces of the wheels 9 and H! tend to remain straight as the wear is substantially uniform. That is, there is less tendency to form grooves. Grooving of the wheels is further prevented due to the vertical movement of, the wheels while rotating. 7

The steel or hone 4 will obviously tend to. wear on the sides indicated at 3a and 3b (see Fig. 3), but as wear takes place, the hone may be slightly rotated to present new surfaces by merely loosen- 3 ing the nut 5 and then tightening it after the hone has been re-set.

The sharpener as a whole is simple in construction and operation. Knife blades of varying size and shape are quickly sharpened and honed, and if the abrasive wheels or the hone become excessively worn, it is obvious that they may be readily replaced, and while this and other features of the invention have been more or less specifically described and illustrated, it should be understood that changes may be resorted to Within the scope of the appended claims and thatthe materials and finish of the several parts employed may be such as the experience or judgment of the manufacturer may dictate or varying conditions or uses may demand.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A knife sharpening device comprising a base member, a pair of spaced apart abrasive wheels disposed on the base, and means mounting said Wheels for rotation and vertical movement with respect to said base in response to longitudinal movement of a knife held in contact with the wheels.

2. A knife sharpening device comprising a base member, a pair of spaced apart abrasive wheels disposed on the base, means mounting said wheels for rotation and vertical movement relative to said base member in response to longitudinal movement of a knife held in contact with the wheels, and a handle on the base to hold the same While drawing a knife against the abrasive Wheels.

3. A knife sharpener comprising a base member, a pair of spaced apart abrasive wheels journaled on the base, said Wheels being disposed on an acute angle with relation to a vertical plane and on angles opposed to each other, and means mounting said Wheels for rotation and reciprocation in a vertical direction during such rotation when a knife blade is drawn longitudinally against the wheels in contact therewith.

4. A knife sharpener comprising a base member, a pair of spaced apart abrasive wheels journaled on the base, said wheels being disposed on an acute angle with relation to a vertical plane and on angles opposed to each other, means mounting said wheels for rotation and reciprocationlin a vertical direction during such rotation when a knife blade is drawn longitudinally against the Wheels in contact therewith, and a handle on the base to hold the same While drawing a knife against the abrasive wheels.

5. A knife sharpening device comprising a base, a pair of similar abrasive wheels rotatably mounted thereon with their axes of rotation vertically disposed on opposite sides of a plane of symmetry, said wheels being spaced a short distance apart, and a hone mounted on said base and aligned with said plane of symmetry.

6. A knifesharpening device comprising a base,

a of similar" abrasive wheels rotatably mounted thereon with their axes of rotation disposed at acute angles to andon opposite sides of a vertical plane of symmetry, said wheels being spaced 2. short distance apart, and a hone mounted on said base and aligned with said plane of symmetry. 1

KIM KEE LEONG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: v V

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 57,790 Squire Sept. 4, 1866 67,011 Young July 23, 1867 1,417,158 Frankland May 23, 1922 1,463,653 Loomis July 31, 1923 

